TOS Review: Music Together

Music is a universal language. It transcends boundaries and has the power to bond people from all over the world. It reaches beyond our cultural and language differences to touch the depths of our souls, express our common emotions, and inspire us all.

 

Music Together, an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program, supports this natural bonding experience, connecting families and communities across the globe as they express and explore the basic human instinct for making music.  

Music Together is targeted for young children (infant, toddler, preschool, and kindergarten) and their parents, teachers, and other caregivers, regardless of their music ability.  The Music Together program encourages active participation of adults with their children in a non-formal approach, which stimulates exploration and discovery.  The mission of Music Together is to create a nurturing music environment in which children's innate musicality will blossom and flourish.  Music Together is committed to helping families rediscover the pleasure and educational value of informal music experiences, such as sharing songs, rhymes, movement and instrument play. 

 Basic Principles of the Music Together Philosophy:

• All children are musical.  Children have a natural tendency to move and sound in response to music.   
• All children can achieve basic music competence; that is, they can learn to sing in tune and move with accurate rhythm.  
• The participation and modeling of parents and other primary caregivers (regardless of their music ability) is essential to a child's musical growth. 
• This growth is best achieved in a playful, musically rich, and non-performance-oriented learning environment.  Young children learn best in a non-formal environment that is free from expectations. 

Our family had the opportunity to review Music Together Family Favorites CD and Songbook for Teachers.

Family Favorites CD

Music Together Family Favorites CD features nineteen (19) of the best-loved songs from the nine (9) Music Together song collections. This CD has won eleven awards including a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor award and includes a 32-page booklet with fun music-making activity suggestions for every song for use at home, in the car, or in the preschool classroom.

If you would like to listen to any of the songs on the Family Favorites CD, please click here.

CD with Booklet:  $14.95

Download Album (MP3) and Booklet:  $9.99

As a homeschooling mom, I have a lot of curriculum scattered organized around my house, which can lead to not having all the components together at the same time.  I absolutely love the way the Family Favorites CD case has an attached booklet that contains some activities for every song!  Everything that is needed is attached and together in one place, genius!

In addition, we really enjoyed the variety of voices throughout the Family Favorites CD.  It kept each song new and fresh and we ALL took pleasure in listening to every song!     

The companion songbook to the award-winning Family Favorites CD is designed especially for all those who work musically with children and can be easily implemented in a variety of settings, including homeschooling. 

Songbook for Teachers

The Music Together Songbook for Teachers explains how to create a musically rich environment where children learn to move rhythmically, to sing, and to develop listening and improvisation skills through playful, developmentally appropriate activities.

The Songbook for Teachers is divided into three sections: 

• The Opening Section introduces the Music Together philosophy, discusses the types of songs and activities for the program, explains how to incorporate instruments and props, and adaptions for children with special needs. 
• The Middle Section contains the 19 songs from the Music Together Family Favorites CD.  Each song contains several teacher pages, which lists ideas and suggestions for different age levels and adaptations for children with special needs. 
• The Final Section includes information about the Music Together program and reference materials.   

Songbook for Teachers:  $29.95

The Music Together Songbook for Teachers is nicely organized and contains more than just suggested activities for each song.  I don't think it's a necessity in order to enjoy this marvelous program.  So, if you have a tight budget, purchase the Family Favorites CD and just let the music move you and your children!  However, if you're looking for a more detailed explanation of activities or want ideas for multiple age levels and children with special needs, I would encourage you to consider the Songbook for Teachers.   

 

If you order the Storybook and CD combo (K0227), you will save $5.  

Discounted price:  $39.95

Storybook and CD combo

Save an additional $2 by entering the coupon code "Schoolhouse" at check out!   

 How we used Music Together:

My girls love music.  They love to sing and dance around the house, in the car, and even at the grocery store!   We frequently have music playing in the background at home and love signing in the car.  My girls, especially Mac, has always had a natural response to music.  I've always tried to make our home a musically enriched environment with absolutely no formal curriculum or expectations mainly because I have no musical ability, seriously, I have none.  I was always the child who was too shy to sing aloud, too embarrassed to dance and sing in front of others and still find myself uncomfortable singing at church in the congregation.  However, when the girls and I are singing, dancing, and having fun--it's easy to forget about my insecurities.  I want my girls to be comfortable singing and dancing with others, regardless of their ability.  I was thrilled to incorporate Music Together in our daily routine, as it supports and encourages all children (and parents) to participate at his or her own level.    

My girls' favorite songs on the Family Favorites CD were "Stick Tune" and "Dancing With Teddy". 

Stick Tune

Dancing With Teddy

I would highly recommend  Music Together Family Favorites CD and Songbook for Teachers for all families!  It's a fun and exciting way to introduce music education to young children, in a non-formal environment that promotes and supports individuality.  

To see what other Crew Members had to say about Music Together, please click HERE. 

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a free copy of Music Together Family Favorites CD and Songbook for Teachers in return for an honest review.